New Roads
by LadyLupin12
Summary: While looking for any family member to take her in after her parents die, Adriana makes a startling discovery on her family tree that will change her life, and the lives of thousands of people forever...


A/N: This is my first FF. It's an AU set in the Marauders Era. I'm changing a lot of things so please no flames. This story is about Dumbledore's mother's side of the family. I've been fascinated with how little we know about her and about that side of Dumbledore. So the main character is Kendra's great-niece, making her Albus's second cousin I suppose. I've been doing research on the dates of people's birth, so they are pretty accurate except Narcissa's and Lucius , ive made her 5 years younger than she is in canon. Ill list them in another chapter if you guys want a time-line. So here is the first chapter.

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People dream of having money to last them a life time. Money is supposed to buy you happiness. Adriana had just inherited more galleons than she could spend in a lifetime, or her children's children's lifetime, yet she was devastated. Her parents were dead. She was an orphan. She found it hard to believe that her vibrant, glamorous mother with her famous laughing black eyes and curly black hair was dead. Or her tall, quiet, blonde, blue eyed father wouldn't walk through the door and ask her random potion questions that she would have no time to answer before he walked away muttering and looking at his notes. But it was true. She saw again the news broadcast of her parents Hampton home in flames. They've been playing it over and over it again for 5 days. She had been in Florida with friends, celebrating her acceptance to The Salem's Witches' Institute, her mother's old school. Her parents were supposed to be meeting up with her in a few days to buy her school supplies. Her father was in the middle of a tricky experiment and wanted to finish. Now, she was dressed in black and looking at the TV screen, while her nanny sat tearfully next to her, and her parent's lawyer drowned on and on about the money and property she now owned. They were considerable. Her mother was a famous actress, her father, a famous potioneer. They had money to spare and properties all over the world. They were hers now.

"Are you listening Miss Lennox?" the crisp British accent of my fathers attorney, Mr. Hawthorn, cut across my thinking. I blinked and looked at him. He didn't look too annoyed, well he did look a little annoyed, but there was pity and sadness there as well. He had been a friend of my fathers since they were in school at Hogwarts. But he was bitten by a werewolf right when his career in Magical Law was taking off. Her father was leaving England to work in America so Hawthorn decided to come with him. He had been their attorney with Magical Law in the US and even dabbled in muggle law. He looked at her now, and asked her, "Do you want me to repeat the question Miss Lennox?"

"I'm sorry Hawthorn, my mind was wandering. Can you repeat the question please?" She had to pay attention though she didn't care. The galleons, the houses, everything could burn for all she cared. As long as she could have her parents back…

"I asked if your mother had any family that we could contact regarding your guardianship. Your father, although he came from an old line, was an only child as you know, and your grandparents are long dead. There's nobody left in that side of the family. Your mother was an American witch of French descent, am I right? I need to know who to contact….." he kept talking but I tuned him out again. Guardianship? Family? She didn't know anything about her mothers family except that her grandmother had been born in France, went to Beauxbatons, then married an older rich American wizard and moved to the US. Grandmother Kalista died 5 years ago, and her Grandfather Derek had died before she was born. They had both been young by wizarding standards but they both had died in their sleep.

"Well, before she became an actress, moms name was Gabrielle York, you know that. I have to check the family tree to check for other family; she never talked of any except for grandma Kali. But why do I have to go live with strangers? Why can't I stay here under your guardianship in the summers with nanny supervising and in school the rest of the time? I'll be starting in September! That's 6 months from now!" She looked at her fathers oldest friend and was suddenly angry. Why was he trying to push her off on strangers when her father had trusted him with everything, including his family? And why was nanny looking so nervous?

"Miss Lennox…"

"Adriana. I've always been Adriana or Adri to you Hawthorn. Why am I suddenly Miss Lennox? I've lost my parents. Am I to loose you too now?" the anger drained out of me just as fast, I was sad again. His face looked pale and drawn, much older than his age. I looked at the calendar and realized the full moon was in 3 days. "I'm sorry Hawthorn, I forgot." His face softened a little but was still too drawn for her taste.

"Adri, I can't take your guardianship. I'm a werewolf. Even though Americas laws are a bit better than England's, I still can't be your guardian. And nanny was retiring before you went off to school. She's 93 Adri, she deserves rest don't you think?" He gave her a pointed look. She knew that Nanny Maggie was old, but she didn't realize she was _that_ old. She turned to nanny in amazement.

"You're leaving me as well? Why?" why was everyone she knew leaving her? Her parents, her nanny, who else was next?

"Sweetheart, I'm a squib. I'm surprised I've had such a lengthy life. I'm grateful to still be healthy, but I'm tired. I've been taking care of Lennox's my whole life. I had already discussed this with you parents. I was leaving a week before you left for school. You won't need me anymore and you are getting too old for a nanny now." She patted my hand with her old, wrinkled hands and smiled sadly at me.

"So that's it. I'm alone. Really alone. Well, thank you for deserting me in my time of need. I'm sure my parents would be _very_ proud of you!" I jumped up and ran out of the room, tears streaming down my face. I ran blindly, not thinking were I was going. I heard Hawthorn call my name but I didn't care. I kept running until I was out of breath. I bend over wheezing and clutching a stitch on my side. I smelled hay, and horses. I had run all the way to the stables. I passed all the horses and headed to the young black filly looking at me. I patted her nose while tears streamed down my face. I opened the stall and walked in sitting in the hay next to her. I closed my eyes and leaned back.

I knew I had been rude by leaving like that. And I knew that I had hurt their feeling purposely. _Mom and dad would be so mad at me if they were here_… If they had drilled something in me, it was manners. Father had had perfect manners. He always said they were drilled into him growing up and he taught them to me. I always thought it was pretty useless to know how to curtsy (I kept telling him we didn't do that in America!) but he always insisted on teaching me everything he was taught. Mother was the same. Granma Kali had sent her to finishing school for a year in England after she left Salem's. Thinking about them started the tears again. Oh, how she missed them. It wasn't fair that they were gone! I fell asleep to the sounds of horses and my tears.

I woke up to glistening tennis ball sized brown eyes peering kindly at me.

"Mistress must wake up now. Mr. Hawthorn and Nanny are looking for you my lady." Her squeaky voice made me flinch. My head was pounding. That was another thing that had changed. Binky, their house elf, had always called her Miss. Now, she was Mistress, or my lady. She hated those titles. Those titles belonged to her mother. She sat up and saw that it was getting dark. She got up and winced. Her muscles were stiff and there was hay all over her clothes and hair. Binky snapped her fingers and the hay disappeared.

"My lady should come to the house now. They are waiting for her." She gave a reproachful look, as if she knew that I had acted badly. I felt myself blushing and patted Sweetys nose again before getting out and closing the stall. She felt foolish and ashamed of how she had acted. In the back of her mind, she knew that Nanny was old. If she was truthful to herself, she had already been planning to talk to her parents about it. Plus, what would she do all that time that she was away at school? And Hawthorn could not have custody of her. He had to jump through so many legal hoops just to be able be with his _own _child. She jammed her hands in her pockets and walked back to the house. The house didn't hurt to be in. She had been raised all over the world, never staying in one place for longer than a year. Her mother was always traveling somewhere on sets. Her father traveled with her sometimes, but mostly spent his time in Hampton experimenting. She had loved that house. But now it was nothing but ashes. She faced the study door and took a long breath, composing her face before she opened the door.

They were sitting exactly where she had left them, but the TV was off and there was a tea tray on the table. They both rose from their seats when she walked in. Hawthorns face was blank, while Nanny looked tearful, her eyes puffy and her nose red. My shame rose a couple of notches. Nanny was tough as nails. Nothing made her cry. Yet she had made her cry. And she knew that the more blank Hawthorn looked, the more upset he was. I walked up to my seat and sat down.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I know you are trying to do what's best, and I'm acting like a spoiled brat. I'm really sorry." Nanny gave a sniffle and patted my hand. Hawthorn was still blank, but he nodded his head at me.

"It's alright dear. We know you are going through some painful things right now. It's normal to want to lash out at people. We are here for you as much as we can love." She patted my hand again and busied herself with making me a cup of tea. I smiled a bit. Nanny always said tea could cure any ails. I looked over at Hawthorn and his face was a little less blank.

"I'm sorry this is difficult for you Adriana, but we need this information. If you aren't up to it, I can make inquiries with the French Ministry, but in the mean while you would be placed with a foster parent. We are trying to avoid that by doing things directly and quickly. Merlin knows how long the Ministry would take. Bureaucrats live for stalling things." It was a good sign that he was still calling me Adriana, but I blanched at the thought of foster care.

"Well, I don't know how to find out. I have a copy of Wizarding geneology, with all the families listed, but that's for the British Isles. Mom's family was French. I can look through some of her things and try and find out…" I drifted off because of the lump in my throat. I had been sleeping in my mothers room since they died, but had never had the nerve to look through their things.

"Its alright Adri, ill figure something out. For now, you can stay here with Maggie." He knew that I would probably not be able to go search for anything in their room. ",go to bed. Its late and I know you haven't been resting much." I looked at Nanny and she gave me a stern look. Sighing, I picked up my tea and got up. I knew when I was been dismissed.

"Good night then. Please let me know if you find something. Ill owl you if I find something too." I walked out and heard them murmuring as I closed the door. I set the tea down on a side table and climbed the stairs to my parents room. The house was quiet and dark, the clock chiming 9 o'clock. I felt tired still but doubted I would be able to sleep. I walked down the long corridor towards the heavy dark mahogany double doors with a large crest, and L in the middle of it. I pushed in the door and took in the large four poster bed. I sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. I could smell her perfume, just barely, on the pillows. I would recognize it anywhere. Her father had made it specifically for her mother. There were dozens of famous perfume manufacturers, muggle and magical, who had tried in vain to duplicate it. But no one knew the ingredients except her father and her. He loved to experiment with different ingredients, and was famous for his potion skills. He was as famous in the magical world for his potion making abilities, as her mother had been in the muggle world for her acting skills. I got up and walked towards mothers small desk. All her things were there. Her mother had sent her things ahead with another house elf in preparation of meeting her. She looked through folders, and boxes, and found fan letters, marriage proposals, bills she hadn't yet forwarded to her assistant, Jane, and reminders of meetings and interviews she would never go to. I put aside the bills to give to Jane later and kept looking. Where would her mother keep things about her family? I searched for another hour and came up with nothing. Tired, I gave up and went to get ready for bed. As I was falling asleep, I remembered that I had to go to the Bank tomorrow to talk to the goblins about my change in status and get a master key. I only had a key to the trust fund that was mine. I sat bolt up right smacking my face with my hand. _Of course! The bank! Mother kept most of her family valuables and old jewelry down there!_ Shaking my head at my own idiodicy, I fell back on the bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, Nanny and I flooed to the bank branch nearest us in New York. I walked in to the snowy white marble building and saw the goblins weighing, counting, and talking among themselves. I knew a little goblin because it had seemed like an interesting language, but they talked at a speed I couldn't keep up with. I walked up to the nearest goblin, nanny hanging back as she always did when we were among magical people she didn't know. Her status as a squib always made her self conscious.

"Miss Adriana Lennox here to get a master key to her new vaults and to look in them." Even though she was only 10 (and a half!) she made her voice as strong as she could. Her mother had always told her never to show fear or insecurities in front of goblins or they would try and cheat her or take advantage of her. The goblin looked down his long nose at her and stared her. She stared right back and tried not to blink too much. It was like staring down a hipogryff! He finally nodded.

"We need your trust key Miss Lennox so we might switch them." I pulled my key out of my pocket and handed it back. I had only had the key for a few months, and had never really used it. It was given to her by her mother in advance of her going off to school.

"That's seems to be in order. Wait here and we will get you a new key and take you down to your vault." He turned around and disappeared into another set of doors. He came back in 15min and they took an elevator down to the vaults. The goblin handed her the key in front of her vault and she opened it. She looked at massive amounts of gold, and knew that this was only one of the vaults she owned. She headed to a small alcove where there were trunks and books piled. Opening the trunk she found old sets of jewelry, gems, and scrolls. She closed it and looked at the books. Rare volumes, 1st editions and another old Wizarding Genealogy. I was about to give it up as a bad job and just grab some galleons, when I noticed a few ribbons sticking out of the genealogy. I picked up the book and opened it. Kalista de Stancion was written on the 1st page. _This had been granmas._ Her last name had been de Stancion. But why would she have a British book when she had been French? I looked down and saw another book 2 old and frayed ribbons. I flipped to the first one and there it was, The de Stancion family. Wow, her family was _old_. She saw the last entries to the family and was saddened that the family name had died out. There was no more family after grandma. Just her sister, and looking at the dates, she had been dead a long time. Her granma had never talked about her sister. She hadn't known she even had a sister. She was disappointed. She hadn't been looking forward to living with strangers in France, but now it was worse. She was going into foster care. I looked again reading some of the names before closing it, when I saw small writing under great aunt Kendras name. I looked closer and saw under Kendras name_see_ _Dumbledore. _Dumbledore! I knew the name of course. He had been dad's old headmaster. I had read some articles on The Wizarding Times about his work in the wizengamot. Were they related somehow? I picked flipped over to the next ribbon, and there it was. Dumbledore family. Percival Dumbledore and Kendra Dumbledore nee de Stancion! I squealed so loudly, nanny peered in alarmed

"Are you alright? What happened?"

"DUMBLEDORE NANNY! I'm related to Albus Dumbledore! Look, great aunt Kendra married Percival Dumbledore, and had 3 children, Albus, Aberforth, and Ariana! Mom was Dumbledore's 1st cousin! That makes me his second cousin." I was astounded. Why would granma never mention this? Why had no one told her? I was sure father hadn't known. He seldom talked about his Hogwarts years and mentioned the headmaster in passing, noting his brilliance and eccentricities. Dumbledore was her closest relative. Did that mean she would get to go to Hogwarts instead of Salem? I felt disappointment at not following in my mothers foot steps. But I was now going to follow in my dads instead. Which was a bit of a relief since she had no interest in acting. But what if he didn't want to take me in? Could I ask Aberforth? I got off the floor and felt suddenly full of purpose.

"Come on nanny lets go. We have to pack. We're going to England."


End file.
